Thursday, November 1, 2012

An oil truck tanker has exploded in Saudi Arabia, leaving at least 26 people dead some 135 injured.

The vehicle is reported to have crashed into a concrete flyover to the east of the Saudi capital Riyadh, with the explosion occurring near one of the principal city’s transport arteries, at a junction on Khurays Road.

Neighboring houses and cars were damaged in the blast, with one industrial building several storeys high almost completely destroyed.

A fuel leak, which occurred after the initial collision, contributed to the scale of damage caused, Saudi officials said.

Victims of the incident were rushed to several nearby hospitals. Medics called on people to donate blood, which is needed to treat many of the patients.

Rescue teams of the national civil defense service and the Red Crescent, as well as traffic police and other security forces, have responded to the emergency.

More casualties are feared as it took several hours for firefighters to extinguish the blaze.

No terrorist connections to the blast are suspected, with police basing this on witness accounts.